Broadcom unveils smaller, more power efficient 40nm NFC chips

Broadcom is really throwing its weight behind this whole NFC thing. Its new family of BCM2079x chips have moved to a 40nm manufacturing process which cuts power use by 90-percent and board size by 40-percent. Broadcom claims they're the smallest and most power efficient NFC chips on the market -- and we're not in any position to refute that assertion. The company's Maestro tools have also been upgraded to let their NFC chips speak to a device's Bluetooth and WiFi radios. This could be used to quickly pair with other gadgets using Bluetooth or stream media to a connected television. For more details check out the PR after the break.

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Broadcom Introduces First NFC Chips in 40 NM to Drive Next Generation of Mobile Payments and Consumer Electronic Connectivity

Industry's Smallest and Most Power Efficient NFC Solution with Seamless Connectivity to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Opens Doors for Next Evolution of Wireless Innovation

News Highlights
New BCM2079x solutions are the industry's first near field communications (NFC) chips manufactured in 40 nm CMOS process for smaller size and the industry's lowest power consumption
Supports multiple embedded secure elements and/or SIM cards for contactless payment and secure applications.
Enables simplified connectivity with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for new innovations in device-to-device data/video transfer, pairing and connections

BEIJING, Sept. 26, 2011 – P&T Expo Comm – Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today unveiled a new family of NFC chips designed to drive the mass deployment of NFC in consumer electronics devices. With a powerful combination of power, size and functional requirements, the new chips provide the advanced capabilities required by OEMs to ignite NFC adoption in consumer electronics. Visit Broadcom.com for more news from the show.

Manufactured in 40 nm CMOS technology, the new Broadcom® BCM2079x family slashes power consumption by more than 90 percent, uses 40 percent fewer components and has a 40 percent smaller board area, making it the smallest and most power efficient NFC solution on the market. The NFC controllers are platform agnostic with support for multiple secure elements or SIM cards – or both at the same time. In addition, Broadcom's advanced MaestroTM middleware allows new NFC applications to utilize Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities in the device to spur new innovations in user interface and media sharing.

An accelerated adoption of NFC could transform the use of smartphones, advancing beyond contactless mobile payments and ticketing to enable radically simplified connectivity between the handset and other devices like Bluetooth headsets and Wi-Fi-enabled digital televisions. The proliferation of NFC has the ability to expand the usefulness of smartphones and inspire a range of new applications built on the ability to create simple, secure connections between devices and enable services with a touch of the phone.

Technology Advantages:

Reduces power consumption:

o Low power target detection mode, which leverages Broadcom's innovative low-power techniques, reduces polling power consumption by more than 90 percent for longer battery life
o Support for field power harvesting allows the chip to draw energy from the environment so it can support transactions even if the phone battery has expired

Provides support and flexibility for all business models and future wireless innovation:
o Only NFC controller to integrate transaction-based Application ID (AID) routing for simultaneous support of multiple secure elements (both SIM and non-SIM) within a single device
o Multiple SWP (single wire protocol) interfaces allow for standards-based SIM and embedded secure element integration
o Broadcom is also working closely with the NFC Forum to define and drive standards to ensure interoperability with other NFC devices

Craig Ochikubo, VP and GM, Wireless Personal Area Networks, Broadcom Corporation
"Broadcom is committed to making NFC as ubiquitous as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are today. These solutions provide the features and performance that enable disruptive innovation that will reshape the mobile consumer experience. Our leadership and proficiency in wireless connectivity influenced the architecture of these new chips to meet the performance required by OEMs, allowing them to more easily add NFC to their designs."

Resources:
http://www.broadcom.com/products/?industry_id=2

About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a FORTUNE 500® company, is a global leader and innovator in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom® products seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments. With the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and embedded software solutions, Broadcom is changing the world by Connecting everything®.